"And so, I was granted a glimpse of the truth."
"Abnormalities are not illusory beings. The essence of an Abnormality is the light extracted from a closed-off heart. They are the truest form of humanity."
"Abnormalities are the purest shells shed by mortals. They are the true humans of this era. Mortals fear them and attempt to control them."
"You need not blame those ignorant vermin. It is only natural for humans to be ashamed of seeing a naked body."
"In any case, you and I have both come to understand—Carmen will become the forbidden fruit that creates a new humanity. Now, call out my name!"
"I am Adam—the first of the new humans!"
A took a deep breath. He really didn't want to see this pretentious fool anymore. If he weren't trapped in Lobotomy Corporation, he would probably be preparing to launch himself to another planet by now.
"I shall sow new seeds in this vast forest and wait for them to blossom. The forbidden fruit that can enlighten humanity has grown in everyone's heart from the very beginning, yet it has long been forgotten."
"Mortals need only take a single bite to be bestowed with infinite wisdom and open their eyes from their confusion. Humanity will be saved from the sin of having forgotten itself. Only then will they feel their shame."
"Once I can draw water from every person's 'Well,' mortals will no longer need to close themselves off. Just imagine, everything that has been suppressed will erupt in various forms."
"Such a scene is truly thrilling!"
"Mortals often ask: Why do we exist?"
"They cannot give an answer, but I can! Join me, and I shall naturally show you—"
The more inflammatory Adam's words became, the harder it was for A to keep a straight face. Every word spoken by this mad, arrogant persona who compared himself to a god was, in A's view, utterly despicable.
A looked at Adam's foolish face and sneered, "No, I refuse."
Binah's words churned in his mind. If he wanted to break the company's cycle, to break the city's cycle, he could not bow to Adam. Only by facing these fears could he grasp what was truly important.
"Jerry, does it feel like everything is moving faster today?" an employee from the Security Team asked his colleague. The already busy workday felt unusually tense.
Even their department head, Netzach, had lost his chance to slack off today. He was forced to work frantically against the clock to ensure the company's regeneration reactors and mental contamination neutralizers were functioning properly.
"This is Angela, reporting to all personnel. An issue has been confirmed with the TT2 Protocol. The flow of time is abnormal today. All department heads, please be on high alert."
Hearing Angela's warning over the broadcast, Ye Lan swung the greatsword of his Twilight E.G.O., cutting down a Blue Fixer that had spawned in the Architecture Team's corridor. This ordeal spawn, a result of the Pale Dawn trial, had first ambushed an employee in the Central Command Team wearing the Sound of a Star E.G.O., then used their briefcase to teleport to the Architecture Team.
Although Ye Lan didn't remember the Dawn ordeal spawning Blue Fixers, this was reality, not a game. Any change was possible.
After dealing with the Fixer, the Qliphoth Meltdown level reached three. When WhiteNight moved, it had swapped its containment unit with Punishing Bird, which was now in the Architecture Team. Besides this feathery lord who often went for strolls, two other new Abnormalities had been moved in.
One of them was... another Happy Teddy Bear. Ye Lan had heard that the game version of Lobotomy Corporation had a bug where the Architecture Team's code could generate duplicate Abnormalities, but he never expected to see it happen in reality.
Still, a duplicate Teddy was a good thing. It couldn't breach, which was crucial today, as the accelerating time felt like the entire facility had been hit by Father Pucci's Made in Heaven. Having two fewer containment units to worry about was a significant advantage.
The other new Abnormality was O-01-55, the Child of the Galaxy. This incredibly jealous little guy demanded that any employee who worked with it could only work with it. Since Ye Lan hadn't entered Melting Love's unit yet, he called in an employee from the Record Team to exclusively manage the Child of the Galaxy.
With time accelerating, they soon received the Level 4 Qliphoth Meltdown warning. The most difficult moment of the day had begun.
In the R&D Team's break room, a false Binah materialized from thin air and immediately attacked the surrounding employees.
"Do you truly believe you can see the essence of things? When what you see is merely the tip of the iceberg?"
"What are you afraid of?"
As Ye Lan rushed to support the R&D Team, the conversation between A and Adam began anew.
"If you believe that robbing mortals of their ability to face fear is a sin, then listen well."
"If you can perform hundreds, thousands of good deeds, what does a mere trace of sin matter? Do you have any idea how noble an act it is to peel away every person's shell?!"
"The future of humanity needs people like you and me to guide it! Just think of the wave of salvation that will follow!!!"
Adam extended his invitation to A once more, this time painting a grand picture of the future, attempting to lure A into becoming him.
However, Hokma's Core Suppression had taught A the final, crucial lesson. Only by embracing the past and facing all his sins could he create a new future, not by turning everyone into mindless Abnormalities as Adam proposed.
Are people who have lost their free will still people? A couldn't say for sure, but his heart told him clearly that he would never let the people of the City become beings without free will. And so, he said:
"I refuse!"
"...You dare to refuse my invitation and face another, unpredictable future?! If you accepted my offer, your future would be filled with miracles!!! Every minute, every second you spend here is etched with pain! You can't even be sure if you're on the right path!"
Having been rejected repeatedly, Adam lost his perpetual arrogant expression. Rage contorted his face...
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